Document print systems with scanners have become a popular computing accessory both in the home and the office. Print systems vary in speed, function, and cost and are often used by businesses for printing large quantities of a multitude of documents. The demand for printing with a variety of additional functions in a single box is something that has been difficult to supply in printers, especially in the smaller printers.
New applications for small to mid-volume printers and multi-function printers (MFP's) include the production marketing collateral such as brochures, pamphlets, business cards, sell sheets, signage, and the like. In addition these devices are increasing used to produce high quality images and graphics for personal and professional applications such as portfolios, academic presentations, photo albums, stickers, labels, and photo quality prints. These diverse applications require the use of various receiver substrates with a range of surface characteristics, thicknesses, weights, paper and plastic supports. With some of these medias additional or ancillary fusing capabilities are required, such as pre-fusing or sintering, impulse fusing, or lead edge fusing for borderless printing applications.
It is also desirable to add additional finishing and marking options that can be easily incorporated into a printing system. New requirements include spot and flood gloss capabilities, customizable surface textures, the addition of extended gamut toners, metallic toners, clear toners, magnetic toners, adhesives, and alternative marking technologies.
Furthermore, as print quality requirements increase additional means to monitor and maintain the printer performance is also required. Additional devices and systems to perform Quality Control functions such as densitometers, electrometer, cameras, or sensors to measure toner deposition amounts and locations on the photoconductor web or on unfused prints.
What is needed is simple method to quickly modify the printer to enhance or specialize its functions and capabilities without requiring a service call or a skilled operator and without compromising the original functionality of the printer. Also the interchangeable modules are inclusive of the physical, mechanical, and electrical requirements of a conventional toner cartridge.
It is desirable to have a print system and related methods of printing that can do even more in a small space.